Can we go together?
If I can bring you into the light riding on the back of a rabbit
or tuck you up at night between the folds of her dewlap
If I can describe how her nose works when following a sent trail
place your fingers on her cheeks to feel her teeth grind the fennel seeds she loves,
count her whiskers and measure the length of her ears with the palm of your hand.
If I can show you how she balances with her tail to listen
then we are begun.
If she makes you smile when she blinks and leaps
calls you with her tiny voice.
If she runs circles round you, enticing you to play
warns you of danger with her drum
then we are on our way.
If you can smell something essential in the soil
hear the step of a human through your feet.
If you can feel the damp on your fur
taste the berry on your tongue.
If you inhale when someone you love comes close
carry the moon in your eye
then there are no limits.
Ruth Gilchrist Home | Ruth Gilchrist (ruth-gilchrist.com) is a Scottish Book Trust live Author. She facilitates the Poetry Library Writing Mothers Group. Her award-winning Poems and Flash fiction have appeared in Federation of writers Scotland anthology as well as many others. Bird Brained is published by Publications (blackagnespress.co.uk)
Amethyst Review 